Kansas Star government contributions adding up

Kansas Star Casino has given more than $1 million each to Sumner County, Sedgwick County and the city of Mulvane since the casino opened in December, according to a news release Tuesday.

“The Kansas Star Casino continues to demonstrate that they want to have a positive impact in our community,” Sedgwick County Commission Chairman Tim Norton says in the release. “Whether that is jobs, contributions to education and charities, or through their revenue sharing with government entities, they are making a difference in south central Kansas.”

Sumner County, Sedgwick County and Mulvane each receive 1 percent of Kansas Star gaming revenue.

The casino generated $113.9 million in total gambling revenue from its opening through July 31, according to the Kansas Lottery. Of that, the state has received $25.1 million, the Problem Gambling & Addictions Fund has received $2.3 million, the local governments of Sumner and Sedgwick counties and Mulvane have split $3.4 million, and the casino manager, Peninsula Gaming LLC, has received $83.1 million, the lottery reports.

The total gambling revenue figure, reported by the Kansas Lottery, is the amount left after all jackpot payouts. By contract, state and local governments get a piece of that revenue.

Peninsula Gaming operates the casino on behalf of the lottery, which owns all the gambling machines, tables, cards, chips, etc.

“For too long we’ve been dealing with shrinking population and increasing taxes,” he says in the release. “The Kansas Star is helping us turn that around.”

In July, the Mulvane City Council voted to reduce property taxes by 10 percent and electrical rates by 5 percent for its residents. And the Sumner County Commission just included a property tax reduction of 27 percent in its 2013 budget. Both credit the Kansas Star Casino with making those reductions possible, the release says.

The Kansas Star is in its first phase of development. Its permanent casino, with additional slot machines and table games, a dedicated poker room, a contemporary steakhouse and a 250-seat buffet is set to open at the end of the year. A new 150-room Hampton Inn hotel, located on the Kansas Star site, is set to open in mid-October.

Starting Wednesday, the casino will begin distributing $425,000 in Kansas All-Star teacher reward cards. The $500 reward cards are for all full-time classroom teachers in Sumner County school districts, including Mulvane, to help teachers with classroom costs.

Since the Kansas Star Casino launched the education program in January, the Kansas All-Star Scholars Fund has provided more than $1 million to the students, teachers and families of Sumner County school districts, according to an earlier news release.

In May, the Kansas All-Star Scholars Fund awarded $365,000 to graduating seniors from the Class of 2012. The 365 scholarships will assist students with the cost of continuing their education at an accredited post-secondary institution.

Volunteers are also distributing $100 Visa reward cards to every K-12 student in Sumner County and Mulvane school districts. The reward cards are to be used to offset back-to-school costs.

The casino will change hands later this year after Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. buys Peninsula, but revenue distributions will not be affected.